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Explanation: From afar, the whole thing looks like an Eagle. A closer look at the Eagle Nebula, however, shows the bright region is actually a window into the center of a larger dark shell of dust. Through this window, a brightly-lit workshop appears where a whole open cluster of stars is being formed. In this cavity tall pillars and round globules of dark dust and cold molecular gas remain where stars are still forming. Already visible are several young bright blue stars whose light and winds are burning away and pushing back the remaining filaments and walls of gas and dust. The Eagle emission nebula, tagged M16, lies about 6500 light years away, spans about 20 light-years, and is visible with binoculars toward the constellation of Serpens. The above picture combines three specific emitted colors and was taken with the 0.9-meter telescope on Kitt Peak, Arizona, USA.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
Publications with words: M 16 - Eagle Nebula
See also:
- APOD: 2026 May 31 Á Eagle Nebula Pillars in Infrared from Hubble
- APOD: 2024 October 22 Á M16: Pillars of Star Creation
- APOD: 2023 July 25 Á The Eagle Nebula with Xray Hot Stars
- APOD: 2023 May 15 Á M16: Eagle Nebula Deep Field
- M16: A Star Forming Pillar from Webb
- Pillars of Creation
- Star Forming Eagle Nebula without Stars